ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Vontaze Burfict's bio in the Arizona State media guide doesn't hold back. It says Burfict is "the highest-ranked football prospect ever to sign a letter of intent to attend Arizona State University."

ESPN.com's Scouts, Inc. listed him as the No. 16 overall player in the 2009 ESPNU 150.

Early returns after a few days of practice? He's living up to the hype.

Now if he can just get the thumbs up from the NCAA Clearinghouse. Burfict can practice with the Sun Devils for a maximum of two weeks, per NCAA rules, while waiting to find out if he has academically qualified.

Burfict said he was more focused on getting his grades in order than conditioning this summer. He acknowledged that the competition level took a significant step up.

"It's much bigger guys who know how to play football at a faster pace," he said. "In high school, everybody didn't know how to play football and wasn't up to my level."

Burfict, if eligible, is expected to immediately challenge for playing time even though the Sun Devils have a lot of veteran experience at linebacker. Incumbent middle linebacker Travis Goethel has started 29 games.

"If I'm ready for the job, then I'm taking it, but Travis Goethel is a very good person and he deserves the job as far as I see," Burfict said.

Burfict, who hails from Corona, Calif., and played for prep powerhouse Centennial -- a budding ASU pipeline -- said he received some good advice before leaving for Tempe: "Be patient."

That will be tested first by the Clearinghouse. Then it will be measured by how long it takes a high-profile recruit to become a high-profile Pac-10 player.

"I'm starting back over again," he said. "I've got to get back to the high profile."